TOOLS & GUIDANCE
W E AT H E R
TOP TIPS • Watch out for weather stress periods – compounded by physical pressures • Monitor sunlight effects on turf health • Continue Qualibra wetting-agent programmes to optimise water use • Watch for local weather and disease risk warnings on the free GreenCast turf management website
PROTECT TURF FROM EXCESS LIGHT
W
hile June can produce ideal growing conditions, recent history of weather records show it also has the potential to pose extreme stress on turf plant health: from high heat, drought conditions and extreme sunlight, to some of the heaviest rainstorms and flash flooding. After the exceptionally slow spring this season, there has now been a surge of vigorous turf growth. Statistically, we can
look forward to the brightest month of the summer.
JUNE 2017 HIGHS AND LOWS
• Rainfall was typically 60% above average • Scotland and the north of England were, statistically, especially wet • Significant rainfall fell in Scotland on more than 50% of days • Sunshine levels in the south of England topped 210 hours – 10% above average.
JUNE 2017 AVERAGE TEMP, SUNLIGHT AND RAINFALL Average temp (°C)
Sun (hours)
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
13.6
14.2
12.7
13.9
14.5
187
178
190
138
162
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
35
54
57
102
114
8
9
9
14
13
Rain (mm)
Days with more than 1mm rain
Temperatures were again well above average in June last year, along with being wetter but with fewer, heavier rain events.
More recently, temperatures in June have been on the rise. The long-term UK average is now 13°C, but over the past two decades this has been exceeded more than 16 times. With an average of over 180 hours of sunshine in June, one of the issues for turf is getting too much light – particularly UV light – that can overwhelm plants and result in photoinhibition, or even physical damage to cells. Plants get sunburn, just like people. It is a weather stress that turf managers will increasingly have to address, perhaps using new pigment technology to protect against sun damage and keep turf looking an attractive green. Historic disease risk and weather records for June on the GreenCast website (www.greencast.co.uk) highlighted that Dollar Spot risk was less than half during a cool month, such as 2015, compared to the hotter conditions of 2014. As temperatures and stresses rise, so too does the incidence of anthracnose – the disease is now the second most prevalent affecting turf. To counter weather stresses, combinations of Primo Maxx and Heritage Maxx ahead of periods of high temperature can increase chlorophyll concentration in the leaf by up to 60 per cent, and raise levels of bioactive cytokinins that helps leaves stay green and healthy for longer. Developing a stronger root mass also creates plants better able to withstand the effects of drought.
www.iog.org THE GROUNDSMAN 47